Textile bearing a starch size



United States Pate William C. Griffin, West 'Goshen Township, Chester County, Pa., assignor to AtlasPowder Company, Wilmington, DeL, a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Application March 30, 1951, Serial No. 218,558

19 Claims. (Cl. 1'1'1-'- 139.5

An object of the present invention is to providea novel, improved textile bearing a starch warp sizing.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sized warp suitable for weaving at high pickages.

These and other objects will become apparent in the course of the following description of the invention.

A warp sizing is a protective coating applied to warp yarns prior to the weaving operation. The primary pu'rpose of the sizing is to protect the warp against breakage which develops as a result of the abrasive action of the shuttle, heddle, comb and threads among themselves. To be satisfactory, a size must adhere well to the textile, possess hardness or abrasive resistance, flexibility and the property of ready removal in. desizing operations. Starches and acid-modified starches have long been used in the role of warp sizes.

The eflectiveness of a size is conveniently indicated by the weaving of a sized warp in continuously increasing pickages. Pickage is a term employed to indicate the number of filling threads per inch'of warp. It is obvious that when using higher pickages, the abrasive actions described above will occur more frequently and thus subject the warp to greater strain. As the pickage increases, breakage of warp threads increases until a critical point is reached where the weaving operation becomes impractical, since the loom must be stopped while each break is repaired.

According to the present invention a novel, starch warp size composition has been developed which will permit weaving at extremely high pickages or alternatively will permit greater efiiciency at the lower standard pickages by virtue of decreased-warp thread breakage. The

novel composition incorporates minor amounts of polyoxyalkylene higher fatty acids in aqueous starch solu tions.

Whether the effect obtained is due to greater adhesion, greater tensile strength, improved lubricity or a change in the physical or chemical constitution of the starch is not known and applicant does not wish to be bound by any theory of operation. Not only has a warp, treated with a sizing composition as described herein, the advantage of permitting satisfactory weaving at very high pickages, but fly or shedding of such warps has been found to be much less than that which results from the use of conventional starch sizes even at much lower pickages. Furthermore, such sizes have sufficient flexibility to permit omission of plasticizers normally required.

The sizing composition of the present invention comprises an aqueous solution containing 5 to starch or acid modified starch and 0.05 to 2% polyoxyalkylene higher fatty acid. The type of starch is not critical. The effect noticeable upon all starches including sago. potato, maize, tapioca and wheat starch. The polyoxyalkylene higher fatty acid derivatives employed correspond to the polyether ester which result from the treatment of a higher fatty acid or mixture of higher fatty acids with an excess of alkylene oxide. By higher fatty acid as employed herein is meant an aliphatic, carboxyl bearing organic compound containing from 11 to 21 carbon atoms. Thus, within the definition is included undecylic, undecylenic, lauric, myristic, palmitic, oleic, stearic linolenic, linolinic, arachidic acid and the like. Further, mixed fatty acid mixtures as they occur when obtained from natural sources as fats, soya-bean oil, peanut oil, cottonseed oil, castor oil and the like are likewise suitable.

2,694,021 Patented Nov. 9, 1954 The alkylene oxide derivatives suitable in the present composition, include those formed by the addition of ethylene and propylene oxide to the fatty acid in a molar ratio of acid to alkylene oxide within the limits of 1:3 and 1:20. These compounds may be produced by the condensation of acid and alkylene oxide under atmospheric or subatmospheric conditions by heating the materials with agitation. Pressures higher than atmospheric and small amounts of alkaline material as catalyst, however, assist in obtaining a much more practical reaction rate at a lower temperature. Since the compounds are old, the procedure for their production will not be illustrated in detail. v l

The warp sizing composition is prepared by mixing and cooking the water and starch in the conventional manner. The polyoxyalkylene higher fatty acid may be added at any time. A convenient procedure which avoids lump formation consists in adding suflicient water to the total amount of starch used to form a thin paste. The remaining water containing the polyoxyalkylene higher fatty acid dispersed therein is then added, and the batch cooked. The sizing composition can be prepared as a high or low viscosity material depending on the temperature at which the cooking is carried out. By heating the composition with agitation below its boiling point within the range of from about to C., for from'20 to 40 minutes a low viscosity starch suspension is obtained. If the cooking is performed at a boiling temperature for the same period, a thick, viscous starch suspension results. The results of weaving tests showed both'high and low viscosity starches were effective in permitting increased -pickage. Since viscosity is'cornmonly related to pickup it appears that the improvedefiect is not associated with percent pick-up of size by the textile. This is most significant in plants where starch is transported by piping since the less viscous material is much more convenient to handle.

The liquid composition itself both in the high and low viscosity forms possesses other advantages over conventional starch suspensions which make it much easier to handle in the plant. The residue which remains in the slashing bath and upon the slashing equipment is more readily removable than that from the conventional starch size. Light hosing is sutficient to remove all traces, the additive apparently assisting in the resuspension of the starch in the wash water. Furthermore, during the use of these sizes no problems of skimming were apparent. Stability toward decomposition on storage appears markedly improved.

The size is useful as a coating for the protection of cords, threads, yarns, pellicles, filaments and fabrics of both natural and synthetic-origin. Among the spun yarnswhich may be so sized may be mentioned wool, cotton, linen, glass, asbestos, viscose rayon, acetate rayon, cuprammonium rayon, casein fiber and copolymerization products such as those from adipic acid, hexamethylenediamine and vinyl chloride, vinyl acetate. Furthermore, continuous filaments are amenable to the size.

The sizing composition may be applied to the textile with the conventional starch sizing equipment. Usually the composition is placed in a steam heated trough and the warp is drawn from the warp beam and immersed in the sizing solution by a series of rollers. The excess size is squeezed from the textile and it is led to the drying cylinders. After drying the textile passes split rods to separate the various warp ends prior to winding on the loom beam. During the drying operation there was no tendency of the sized textile to stick to the drum. Furthermore, flake off at the split rods was negligible. No tendency of the sized textile strands to adhere together on the loom beam was observed.

The following examples are cited to illustrate the invention. They are not intended to limit it in any manner.

The sizing compositions employed in the examples were compounded with an acid treated corn starch by mixing the ingredients in the manner described above. Cooking was continued for one-half hour at a temperature of 95 C.

For the weaving test, a Z spun 30/1 viscose rayon, 1.5/1-9/16 two-inch warp ribbons are slashed with the desired sizes and after drying are woven on a nine placev .3 ribbon loom. The weaving is started at 40 picks and increased after every V2 yard until-the number of threads failing at any one setting is. over 10.

i Indieates average n mberof. osyelky eneroups-Be m of acid.

Oth r suitable si e etnmsitions are Pr pared as indicated. below:

Ex mple 3 2??? Pe ent oi folyoxya kyleue d 20 1 of whydroxypolyethoxy ethyl oleete.

s 1 at: it) hrdmxspe irnronow PM 016MB- 3. ltt rd xsml nropex n py ur 3 l retypqlye qsy ethyl ai r te- In the fo l i examples a ab ie 5.1 inches wid h and y r s n l n th s wove tr n; 0/ .2; .sp .n viseose ray f fiber eharaeterist-ies .5/1 17-91mm, 5100 ends at. 120. per in The we e is slash with thr .diiierent starch so ution as desc ibed elow each on ya d of the wa p. The cloth woven a a. ons -p s o 5 T e numbe at b aks oe r n in each f the sections. was re or ed. Th 'size f Examp IX s rv as a tanda d.

1 Efficiency Eati No. of

Example Solutions Breaks 8 lbs. acid t ated .wr stareh.--..-

3 lbs. 3 oz. olamylopectln starch (progessed from domestic waxymai .9 zsnlfonatet w ll 1 5 oz. sodium alglnate (preservative) Water to give gal. of solution bs 3 M.- oia id. ea d earn. st h- 3% z. f 8 hydro yp lyethqxy thyl. I

steara Water to give 20. gal. of solution 1 bs- 3 otaei a ed. care sta ch.

1 b. M at 8 hyd r pnlypr pexypropyl stearate;

Water to give 20 gal. of mlutlon It is obvious that useof the'modified starch: size as taught herein perrmtsan increase of two tn'four times in loom veilieiency as shown above. Furthermore-the fly produced at the loom when the modified. starch is used is considera ly less- It is understood that the usual softeners, plasticizers, viscosity control-substances and various blends of starch as conventionally used may be used with the above described modifying agent.

Many modifications within the scope of the invention described above will be apparent to those skilled in the art without a departure from the inventive concept.

What is claimed. is: a

1. A textile bearing a starch size of from 5 to 15 Parts of starch and from .05 to 2 parts of a hydroxy polyalkoxy ester of a higher fatty acid contaning from 3 to 20 111015 of alkylene oxide permol of fatty acid.

2. A textile as described in claim 1 wherein the said esteir is a hydroxypolyethoxy ethyl ester of a higher fatty acr 3. A textile as described in claim 1 wherein the said ester is a hydroxypolypropoxy propyl ester of a higher fatty acid.

4.- A t x il s. d scribed in claim 2 wherein the higher f tty aci contains from 1.1 to 20 carbon atoms.

A x il a d scribed, in claim 3 wherein the higher f t y a i cont ins from 11 to 20 carbon atoms.

6. A textile as. described in claim 4 wherein the t le i a wa p yarn.

A tex il s d s ribe in claim 5. wherein the textile s. a were y rn.-

tex ile as de cribed in claim. 6 wher in h W rp Yarn is c t n.

9. A tex ile as. described in claim 7 wherein he warp Y rn is c t n.

10-. A textile as. described in claim, 6 wherein the warp yar is a iscose ray-Q 11- A. xtile. as. described. in cl im 7 wh r in the p yarn is a viscose rayon.

12- A; te t le as de cri ia laim 10. wherein th p ya n is p n v sco e r yo A, tex ile as descri ed in claim 11 wherein the wa p ya is p isco e rayon.-

14. A textile as, described in claim 6 wherein the warp yarn is. etate. ray n.

15. A textile as described in claim '7 wherein, the warp ya n is acetate rayon- 1.6. A textile as described in claiml4 wherein the warp yarn s p n acetate rayonr.

17. A textile as described in claim 15, wherein the warp ya n p n t rayon.

18. A textile as defined in claim 6, wherein the warp Ya n isa. synthetic eopolynierization product.

1. A. tex ile as efined in cla m 7 wh r in th w p yarn is; a synthetic polymerization product.

References Cited in the. file. of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Numb r. N me Date 1,311,964 Grosvenor Aug. 5, 1919 1,970,578 Schocller et al. Aug.,21, 1934 2,103,205 Myers; Dec. 21, 1937 2,174,760 Schuette. Oc 3, 1939 r 2,359,750 Collins. Oct. 10, 1944 

1. A TEXTILE BEARING A STARCH SIZE OF FROM 5 TO 15 PARTS OF STARCH AND FROM .05 TO 2 PARTS OF A HYDROXY POLYALKOXY ESTER OF A HIGHER FATTY ACID CONTAINING FROM 3 TO 20 MOLS OF ALKYLENE OXIDE PER MOL OF FATTY ACID. 